How To Wear Hats And Not Look Like You Are Trying Too Hard

Women’s Hat Styles

Guys have it easy…they can throw on a hat and instantly look decent! Wearing a hat is a little harder for us women. But, a hat is an easy way to add chicness to your outfit! You see a woman with a hat and you think, “Wow, she’s cool!” It’s called “The Hat Effect,” according to fellow YouTuber, Carly Cristman. I just love it… “The Hat Effect.”  You seriously do take notice of a woman wearing a hat, right? Think about it.

A felt or wool hat is that perfect accessory to help transition your summer outfits to fall! We share some other easy tips to extend the life on your favorite summer pieces here.

Finding The Perfect Hat

Rag & Bone Felt Fedora

First, I want to talk about the Rag & Bone hat I’m wearing above. I’ve tried a lot of hats and hat brands and found that Rag & Bone is one of my favorites in terms of quality and fit. I know they can be pricey, but you’ll have and wear them for years and years. I’ve had this soft wool fedora for several seasons and still reach for it every fall. It has a wide grosgrain band and a perfectly sized rim. Since it’s a few years old, this exact hat is no longer available, but I’ll link some similar options from the brand for you below! Now for my top tips…

Best Hat Tips

1. Avoid hats with brims that are wider than your shoulders: You don’t want the hat to be so wide that you can’t sit shoulder-to-shoulder with someone. Unless it’s a sun hat for the beach of course…keep that skin protected!
2. Find a hat that’s neutral, casual, and therefore easy to style: As you can see above, the hat I’m wearing is a neutral color that can easily be styled with multiple colors and outfits!
3. Skip earrings: Sometimes having a hat AND earrings on can be a little too much accessorizing. Wear simple studs or no earrings at all.
4. Coordinate colors: I’m not saying that your hat has to exactly match your outfit. It just needs to coordinate. The neutral brown tone of my hat above matches my bag and shoes while the white band compliments the rest of the look. Be thoughtful about tying the colors together.
5. Adjust the angle of your hat to decide what looks best: You may get a hat, put it on, and decide that you look ridiculous. But don’t write it off completely! Sometimes the hat just needs to be tilted to the side or adjusted a little. Play with the angle to see what works!
6. Experiment with different styles: There are tons of hat styles out there…newsboy, baseball, Panama, fedora, beret, floppy, cowboy or western-inspired, bucket hats, beanies, etc. My point is that there are so many styles out there; you can find one that works for you! If you hate the fedora, try a floppy brim hat. The Colorado moms all wear trucker hats. I love the look on other women, it just doesn’t feel like me, so I don’t wear one. But I do love the look of a baseball cap from time to time!

Rag & Bone Straw Fedora

Here’s another Rag & Bone hat (told you I loved them!) that I recently picked up during the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale. I love the fit, textured woven band, and that it’s packable. You can throw this one in your suitcase without worrying about it getting crushed. Bonus! This hat is currently on sale in limited quantities, so I’ll share a few similar options.

Freya Straw Hat

I picked up this straw hat by Freya just before my family trip to Italy. I love the oversized grosgrain ribbon and the full sun coverage that this hat provides. It also has built-in SPF 50 so it’s as functional as it is fabulous!

Chic Baseball Cap

The last hat style I wanted to share is a chic baseball cap. It will definitely make your outfit appear more casual, but in a cool way! A baseball cap is probably one of the easiest styles to experiment with if wearing hats is a little outside of your comfort zone. I tend to gravitate toward neutral classic colors and logos, but you can wear any baseball cap that speaks to you and your personal style!

Common Questions

1. Do I have to take the hat off when I go inside? And if so, how do I avoid hat hair? If your hat clearly compliments your outfit, leave it on. Meaning that if you styled an outfit to include the hat, people will realize that and won’t think it’s weird that you keep it on. And then you can avoid hat hair! If you have to take your hat off, try either running your fingers through your hair or keeping a small travel brush in your purse to fix the hat hair.
2. Do I wear my hair up or down with a hat? Normally, I wear my hair down. But you can do either! Your hair might look better up with certain styles. But my fail-safe is wearing my hair down and making sure there’s some hair in front of my ears and shoulders.

What do you think about wearing hats? Love it or not your style? let us know in the comments below!